A News Blog

Keeping you in the know in the world of politics

Much has been made of the Congressional Budget Office report last week that showed the richest 1 percent of Americans have seen their income increase by 275 percent between 1979 and 2007, with the growth for the rest of us was dramataically lower. And the report doesn’t even include what has happened since the recession, caused primarily by the greed of that 1 percent and their enablers at the banks and policy makers in Washington. Such fact-based reports are certain to help… Read More »

President Barack Obama is below 50 percent in the popularity polls and the conventional wisdom is that he will lose his bid for reelection next year. I’m not quite sure that is correct, however, if for no other reason than because it is hard for me to imagine the voters going for any of the prospective Republicans now running for their party’s nomination. In fact, with none of the eight main candidates pulling more than a quarter of GOP votes in various… Read More »

I finally got around to watching a complete Republican debate, in this case, The Western Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas Tuesday night. It was hosted by CNN and moderated by an at times beleaguered Anderson Cooper. Here, in a nutshell, is how it went (with some comments): Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “I’m not a conservative by choice.” (I’m looking at you, Mitt Romney.) Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul: Hey, I’m the real conservative up in here! (Because nobody can… Read More »

“Occupation” troops are set to take over parts of Tuscaloosa and Birmingham Saturday as part of the national day of protest of the Washington status quo that began with the Occupy Wall Street mass gatherings that began about a month ago. In Tuscaloosa, where a couple of dozen protesters passed out leaflets around Denny Chimes on the University of Alabama Quad before the homecoming festivities last Friday, a 1-to-4 p.m. protest has been set at Capitol Park, site of… Read More »

Went to the second “General Assembly” of the Occupy Birmingham movement at the new and neat Railroad Park on the industrial south side of the Magic City Tuesday and my impressions of the nascent national protest that began with a massive and continuous occupation of New York City’s financial district are found in today’s At Large column in The Tuscaloosa News. I wanted to go to the Occupy Tuscaloosa group’s leafleting of the crowds on The Quad for the University… Read More »

Business Insider, an on-line economic tip sheet, puts out a daily graft that is often insightful and sometimes downright amazing. Don’t know how you would characterize this one but it is certainly food for thought. For full explanation, read the link: http://e.businessinsider.com/public/375841